Subscribe to this RSS feed

Feature Stories

We’ve got something for everyone here in Features — people stories, off-the-beaten-path kind of stories, science-in-action sagas. Take your pick!

6 July 2020
Let’s play SciBall!

Let’s play SciBall!

This sports and science mash up features new geeky games inspired by the cool things scientists study in high-field magnets. 

22 June 2020
Combatting COVID

Combatting COVID

This series focuses on MagLab scientists who are leveraging their expertise and high-field magnets in the fight against COVID-19.

20 April 2020
MagLab physical chemist Fred Mentink-Vigier tries to get some science done in his Tallahassee apartment. Frequent interruptions from his 3-year-old son make working from home a challenge. "It's hard for him to understand that he should not interrupt me, especially if I'm on a Zoom meeting," he said. (The same appears to be the case for Pesto the cat.)

What happens when you lock the scientists out of the lab?

That experiment is taking place right now. The data so far is mixed, but resourceful researchers find the upside.

12 February 2020
Jeremy Owens

Climate Change: Past and Future

Thanks to new funding, MagLab geochemist Jeremy Owens will learn more about ancient climate change, extinctions, oxygen levels, and new species to understand future climate impacts. 

22 July 2019
National MagLab chemist Yan-Yan Hu has been awarded a prestigious CAREER Award from the National Science Foundation to study defects in materials.

Building Better Batteries

With a prestigious prize from the National Science Foundation, MagLab chemist Yan-Yan Hu hopes to boost the performance of materials used in batteries by engineering them to have the best possible flaws. 

22 July 2019
National MagLab physicist Christianne Beekman has been awarded a prestigious CAREER Award from the National Science Foundation that will support research into new quantum materials.

Thin materials made for applications

Can thin films be designed for future quantum technologies? With a prestigious prize from the National Science Foundation, MagLab physicist Christianne Beekman wants to find out. 

24 June 2019
Engineers install the resistive coils of the Series Connected Hybrid magnet inside its superconducting coils. Together, the coils generate a 36-tesla magnetic field.

Crossing a Mack truck with a Ferrari

Two MagLab teams tried marrying vastly different technologies to build a new type of magnet: the Series Connected Hybrid. Decades later, has the oddball pairing panned out?

31 May 2019
Hurricane Season at the MagLab

Hurricane Season at the MagLab

Located in a region prone to hurricanes, the National MagLab is ready to weather any storm.

17 April 2019
Organic geochemist Isabel Romero (left) tapped the expertise of MagLab chemist Amy McKenna (seated) to run her experiments on ocean sediments impacted by the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.

Getting to the bottom of Deepwater Horizon’s impact

Thanks to the MagLab’s expertise and unique instruments, a geochemist finds a treasure trove of oil-spill data buried beneath the sea.

2 August 2018
The magma-like environment inside this furnace is just what the superconductor Bismuth-2212 needs.

BiSCCO breakthrough

MagLab experts fine-tuned a furnace for pressure-cooking a novel superconducting magnet. Now they're about to build its big brother.

19 June 2018
Staffers from opposite ends of the building (Jonathan Billings, left, and Steve Rowland) meet at SnackChat.

"SnackChat" builds community at the MagLab

Monthly gatherings prepare employees for the dreaded awkward elevator ride.

4 June 2018
Team captain of the MagLab, Director Greg Boebinger (far left) with fellow team members from across the lab in front of the world-record 900 MHz NMR magnet.

Rooting for Team Science

How is science like a team sport? From physics to chemistry to biology, it takes a squad to make progress in an increasingly interdisciplinary world. 

9 May 2018
MagLab chemist Ryan Rodgers was awarded the Distinguished University Scholar Award from Florida State University earlier this month.

Ryan Rodgers makes it happen

With determination, confidence and a top-notch team, this MagLab chemist exposed the complex secrets of crude oil, busting open a vast, new field.

5 April 2018
CellBert isn't afraid to get a little dirty in his mission to keep our magnet areas clean as a whistle.

Meet CellBert: The MagLab's Mega-Vacuum

How do you keep the world's largest magnet lab clean? With a super-sized cyborg, of course! 

19 February 2018
The demands of competitive swimming prepared lab assistant Christopher Reis well for a science career.

Ten ways sports can make you a better scientist

Looking for something to give you the edge in your research? Join the team.

12 February 2018
A match made in physics

A match made in physics

Whether with people, particles or the forces of physics, love always finds a way.

4 October 2017
MagLab materials scientist Ke Han with tiny samples of manganese gallium, which has shown promise for magnetic applications.

Replacing Rare Earths?

Using high-field electromagnets, scientists explore a promising alternative to the increasingly expensive rare earth element - neodymium - widely used in motors.

17 July 2017
Charlie Sanabria checks on samples in the furnace.

Beating the heat treatment problem

Looking for ways to make better superconductors for the next-generation particle accelerators, a young scientist homed in on how they were heat-treated. He was getting warmer.

1 May 2017
Magneto-optical (MO) image of a 3.3 mm wide YBCO on RABiTS coated conductor.

Intro to high-temperature superconductors

At the National MagLab and other labs across the globe, the race to discover ever-warmer superconductors is heating up. Find out what these materials are, what they’re good for and why this field is red hot.

7 October 2016
Research on topological materials done at the MagLab.

Tapping into the Topological Promise

At the National MagLab, scientists have been experimenting for years on materials first dreamed up by the newest physics Nobel laureates decades ago.